Swap Debt for Equity

By

Jose de Venecia Jr.

Updated Oct. 20, 2005 12:01 a.m. ET

The passage of time has witnessed countless plans to wipe poverty off the face of the earth. Some have been pie in the sky, while others have made a little headway. Of late, a lifeline has been extended to the poorest of the poor in the form of debt relief offered by the U.S. and other Group of Eight industrial countries. This will relieve the debt burden for some of the most desperate countries, but a wider program for debt management is needed to allow the next 100 lower-income nations to flourish. This can be achieved through...